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Tiptoe through these tulips, baby!

Tiptoe through these tulips, baby!

Got visions of spring blooms? Then start planting your spring bulbs this fall.

Tulips, daffodils and numerous other cold-hardy bulbs are fall planted and easy to grow. Here are some tips:

Plant as deep as directed (tulips six inches, daffodils eight inches, smaller bulbs less). In the case of tulips, the top of the bulb as it sits in the planting hole should be six inches deep — likely an eight-inch-deep hole.

The top of the bulb (pointed end) should be facing upwards, basal plate down. Fill soil in gently but snuggly; break up big clods to avoid air spaces.

To have an impact in the garden, bulbs are best planted in groups of 10 or more. It is also easier to dig out one large hole than 10 small ones.

For that wow look, stick with one color for more visual impact. Or, plant one color that is early, another that is late.

If squirrels are a problem, you may want to lay some chicken wire at some level below the soil and cover completely to discourage digging.

After planting, water in and cover with winter mulch in November. When it starts to warm, pull off the mulch in late March early April. You may need to protect the fresh green foliage from rabbits and deer. Try the smelling critter spray if you haven’t. I do believe it works.

Bulbs have few insect pests or disease issues. When the blooms start to fade, snip off the flower head before it develops a seed pod. Developing seed heads in any plant uses up a tremendous amount of energy.

Allow the foliage to die back naturally, do not remove or cut back! The foliage makes the food for the bulb for the next year. When you cut them back, you cut off their food source and the ability to create energy to grow and bloom next year. When folks ask me why their tulips disappeared, I ask them “Did you cut the foliage back last year?” Step away from the pruners!

Cutting stems also leads to plant decline for the next year. Because of how the leaves are organized on the stems, it’s difficult to cut a stem without taking leaves with it. So, either plant lots and re-plant every few years (so it won’t matter), or don’t cut and have better results, or cut them with a really short stem, leaving the foliage on the plant.

Often gardeners plant bulbs they have gotten as gifts as a potted plant, a dish garden or an Easter lily. An Easter lily or other potted bulbs aren’t necessarily hardy to our zone 4 region, and sold for your temporary plant pleasure. Also, these bulbs are put through a process called forcing, which is placing them in artificial conditions to bloom out of season for our enjoyment. Forcing takes a lot of energy from a bulb, and it may not recover to come back the following year.

Can we talk about watering again? It is extremely dry and watering takes me hours every week. It’s years like this that remind me not to install too many new plants in the same year because they all need you. When you water a tree, go all the way from the trunk to the drip line. The dripline is the edge of the canopy of the tree. The roots can actually go far beyond the dripline. These are the roots that take up the water so soak that entire area.

If you didn’t get frosted last week, there are more chances late this week. I, for one, am hoping for frost. Then I have an excuse for the garden looking bad — it’s been hit by frost!

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